Research Focus

The research focus of the group is broad-scope assessments of U.S. forest, grassland, and aquatic ecosystems intended to aid natural resource policymakers and managers. The group develops and extends methods for projecting area changes in land uses and land covers, and seeks to integrate these methods with other research methods aimed at examining associated ecological and economic impacts. The group has a strong record in analyzing and reporting on macro-level issues regarding land use and land cover changes, and socio-economic forces affecting these changes. 

The Group’s investigations of land use and land cover change spans national, sub-regional, and sub-state scales. At the national scale, the team produces inputs and stand-alone projections of land use and forest cover changes for the RPA assessments. A substantial portion of the Group’s RPA effort is focused on modeling and analyzing land use and forest cover changes for the southern United States and the Pacific Northwest Westside regions. The Group has collaborated with other researchers on sub-regional natural resource assessments, such as for the Western Washington Forest Resource Supply Study and the Coastal Landscape and Analysis Modeling Study.